What I've Been Up To: London and a Mini Haul

Howdy stranger! As it usually is, your slowest blogging months are invariably your busiest "life" months. I was pretty shocked when I looked at the calender and realised it's been almost a week and a half since I last blogged! This is by far my longest break and I've really missed blogging. I could have squished in a couple of posts but to be honest they would have been very lack lustre. This week has been all about University preparation. Last Wednesday I had an interview at Westminster University to try and win a place on their Journalism course. I've always loved writing but blogging has been a total revelation for me; I never imagined myself forging a career in journalism but now I know what I want to do with my life. In a dream world I'll one day be working in the beauty department for a magazine but any kind of writing would be great for now, you never know!

I'm one of those people that always remembers the camera and then totally forgets to take photos. Halfway through my great London journey I suddenly remembered it nestled in my bag and whipped it out to take a few shots in the Natural History Museum. If you get a chance to go exploring around London I wholeheartedly recommend a wander through it, if for nothing but the stunning architecture in the foyer.

Bar the first image which is the foyer, all of these photos were taken in the mammal room. There's something truly awe-inspiring about the sheer size and majesty of these animals. There were a lot of interesting exhibitions but this was one of my favourites (hence I remembered I had a camera!) The museum also housed a mini gallery of works inspired by nature. Animals and plants have always been my favourite things to work from and I'd actually forgotten how much I enjoyed and appreciated art so it was wonderful to see everything. The most bizarre and disturbing thing for me was the human biology exhibit - lots of terrifying massive babies and glowing red "womb" walls. I'm the least maternal person ever and myself and my flatmates were all suitably disturbed.

Just as we were leaving the museum my boyfriend pointed out the sunset and I had to a nab a photo. It was so beautiful and the surrounding buildings were stunning. A very fitting end to the day.

If I sound like a major tourist it's because I really am. I've only been to London once before and it was an awful College trip experience. All I did that day was walk up and down a packed Oxford Street (it was January 3rd and ridiculous) whilst other people tried on clothes in stores that didn't carry my sizes. This second trip has shown me a whole new side to the city and I really want to study there. It's so full of inspiration and colour. It's also full of some seriously stylish women. I remember in particular this one Asian girl in the tube station with a slick, black graduated bob, bare skin and bright red, matte lipstick. She was wearing a big voluminous coat and black tights and I just kept thinking about how incredible she looked. So if you're ever in a style rut, go and people watch in London, you wouldn't ever get bored.

This mine and my boyfriend's ridiculous tower of plates at Yo! Sushi. We'd never been there before but he and my flatmate were adamant that it's where they were eating dinner so off I went. I have to honest, I'm a firm cooked-food eater. The one piece of raw tuna sushi that my boyfriend forced on me was horrific. All I could taste was blood and it had the most repulsive texture; squishy, slimy and jelly-like. I still haven't forgiven him for his enthusiastic offering. I was also rather perplexed at the wait staff's apparent disgust when I asked for tap water. The glasses were tiny so I had to ask for a second and they seemed very stressed about it. Certainly not the best service I've ever had. Regardless, the noodles, prawns and chicken dishes were fantastic and I'd definitely eat there again.

And of course you know me... I couldn't leave without buying some beauty bits!




Clearly I was in an orange mood! Sadly I didn't have time to go for a serious shop at Selfridges or Debenhams so these were actually nabbed at the St. Pancras station Boots. I originally went in on the off chance that they'd have 17's Beehive in stock since I've been searching for it for lord knows how long. Lo and behold, the whole glorious shelf was filled to the brim! I also considered buying the Doll'd Up mascara that everyone has been raving about but decided to try "Belle," another rarely-found lipstick (at least in my local Boots.) The rest were kind of bought on a whim which is a bit unusual for me but they'd all been fully researched so why not?! I've been putting off buying the Tangle Teezer for so long because of the price but I figured since it was a day out I could treat myself. I've also decided that this Summer I'm going to really embrace orange cosmetics so I popped a couple more Revlon products in my basket to add to my collection.

Honourable mention of the day goes to this ridiculous doughnut. They do say everything is bigger in cities. Unbelievably it was only 99p which I think is a very fair price for something that could feed a family of four.

And that's my little trip all summed up! The University was really wonderful and I'm so hoping I get in. If anyone else has a group interview coming up please don't stress too much about it. I almost made myself ill with worrying and it was so unnecessary. Everything was really relaxed and informal and I turned up in black trousers and a red shirt and was completely overdressed. There was even a couple of people in jumpers and leggings and they looked much more at home than I did. So try not to worry and don't be afraid to chat to the other interviewees, they're all feeling the exact same way and you might even connect with someone. I was really lucky and managed to meet another beauty and fashion blogger who was absolutely lovely and happens to be the first blogger I've ever met!

Are you hoping to attend University this year? Do you spend much time in London? Let me know where I should visit when I (hopefully) start studying there!

Lauren

P.S. I know there's been a total palaver over Google Reader (which is being killed soon) and GFC recently. I'm fairly certain that GFC isn't going anywhere in the near future, but just as a little bit of shameless self promotion and precaution, I'd love a follow on Bloglovin'! You can find my profile here.

Valentine's Day Inspired Makeup Tutorial

Ahh, love is in the air... and by love I mean an inordinate amount of money and the pressure to somehow make sex more exciting than usual. I'm only joking! I'm not a total grouch. Whilst it's absolutely true that you should be loving your significant other pretty much every day, it's kind of nice to have a day dedicated to it. And it certainly doesn't have to cost a lot of money. I for one am intending on making my lovely boyfriend breakfast in bed which I know he's going to love.
Regardless of what comes with Valentines Day there's no denying that it can be pretty inspirational with it's classic girly colour palette and patterns. Since I recently received this palette (only £1.99!) I decided that I was going to experiment with some pink shadows.

1-2

Gently pat the lid shade all over the eye. I used my Body Shop Eye Shadow Brush. Blend slightly outwards to create a more soft, rounded shape. Using the same brush, work the crease shade into the crease and bring it under the eye about half way across. Using a clean brush (or even your little finger as I did) pat some of the lightest shade into the inner corner.

3-4

Apply a liquid liner. I used Illamasqua Precision Ink in Havoc which is a deep red/purple shade and dries to a wet-look finish. Matte black would be fantastic and much easier to wear, but since we're experimenting I think Havoc is great! Slick two coats of black mascara onto the top lashes and one coat onto the bottom lashes. I then defined my brows and highlighted the arch on the brow bone using the Soap and Glory Arch de Triumph.

4-5

That's the eyes finished! Looking very sleepy. For the lips I wanted to tie into the colour palette but keep them quite muted so as not to overpower the rest of the makeup. Annoyingly I didn't actually have any pastel pinks in my collection so I had to get creative. I began by slicking on a thin coat of Rimmels Apocalips in Nude Eclipse and evening out with a lip brush (or fingers.) I then used Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie over the top by rubbing the product onto my finger and gently patting across the lips. I am absolutely thrilled with these lips! It just goes to show that you don't always need new products to get the desired effect and I'll be experimenting some more in the future with colour mixing.

Here's the finished look. Fit for Aphrodite herself! ;)

Products Used:

Face:

The Body Shop Moisture Foundation in 03

The Body Shop Lightening Touch Concealer in 01

The Body Shop All In One Face Base in 03

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light

Illamasqua Illuminator in Slay

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in Berry 06

Eyes:

Technic Electric Beauty Ultra Violet Palette

Illamasqua Precision Ink in Havoc

Soap and Glory Arch de Triumph

The Body Shop Super Volume Mascara in Black

Lips:

Rimmel Apocalips in Nude Eclipse

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie

I really hope you liked my look and would love to see some links to your Valentine's looks! Obviously this is a bit "out there" with the red liner but I still love it and I did wear this out! Very brave for such a beauty and fashion backwards town but I felt great.

Lauren

January Favourites

Since I've now been blogging for over two months I feel familiar enough with my stash to start my monthly favourites! What better month to start than January?  I have a bit of a mix here, there's few old favourites and some new products too. So here are my most reached for this month:

From L-R: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Honey and Crush, W7 Nail Varnish in 11, The Body Shop Aloe Gentle Foaming Face Wash, Naturals Mango and Papaya Lip Balm, Maybelline Dream Touch Cream Blush in Berry 06, The Body Shop Shea Body Butter, Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Liner in Black

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Honey and Crush
I was very late on the band wagon with these but I'm enormously happy that I finally jumped on! I've literally been swapping these back and forth for Day and Night. Honey is a pretty soft pink and Crush is deep berry tone. I find them absolutely ideal for the Winter since they're slightly moisturising. Matte lipsticks tend to dry my lips out in this weather. Swatches and full review here.

W7 Nail Varnish in 11
A beautiful powdery pastel blue. I've worn it twice already this month! I even accidentally bought an Illamasqua dupe but I find the slightly thinner formula of this polish works better for me. It's a great colour to take me into Spring. I love it!

The Body Shop Aloe Gentle Foaming Face Wash
I've been using this for a couple of months now and it's almost empty. It's super light and refreshing and I love using it. I always feel extra clean and my skin looks more radiant in the mornings. I can't sing it's praises enough. Colour, fragrance and paraben free, it's ideal for sensitive skin girls like me.

Naturals Mango and Papaya Lip Balm
A more recent addition to my stash! I actually won this from Jasmine and it came in a collection of four different scents. I love all of them but this is my current favourite. It smells absolutely divine. Really fruity and fresh. It has a slight orange tint to it which comes out as a very natural peachy shine on my lips. Perfect for day time. I haven't put it down!

Maybelline Dream Touch Cream Blush in Berry 06
I bought this all the way back in November but I've only recently started full embracing it. This is 100% my go to blush. I prefer a slightly dewy finish because I feel it looks much more natural on my dry skin and this is just perfect for a touch of natural colour. It only takes a very small amount and I buff it on using my round Nanshy brush for a flawless finish. Lasts forever, looks gorgeous. Review of Nanshy brushes and cheek swatch here.

The Body Shop Shea Body Butter
The very first Body Shop butter that I ever bought and still a firm favourite. It's the one that I reach for when I have very dry skin and I love it for some extra moisture in Winter. I have quite a few of the butters and there are an amazing selection of scents. They sink in really fast and you can smell them all day long. Perfect mosturisers.

Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Liner in Black
This is has always been my go to liquid liner and this is a brand new tube since I tragically lost my old one. It's ultra black, dries fast and doesn't transfer despite not being waterproof. It also has my favourite kind of applicator, a slightly firm point that doesn't splay or pull on my skin. Forever repurchase.

Quite a few this month that I wanted to feature! Have you tried any of these products? I'd love a link to your favourites this month!

Lauren

Review: Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Raspberry Pie

Raspberry Pie is the very first colour that I dreamed of owning when I first saw it on The Sunday Girl and is the last of the colours that I currently own!

Unlike some of the other shades you get exactly what you pay for with this one. The bullet is a rich raspberry pink (shock) and that's exactly what I get on my lips.

It's rich, glossy and completely opaque in one swipe. Perfection! There's no shimmer in this one, it just has a beautiful high-shine finish. It's very smooth and moisturising and lasts the longest of the ones that I've tried at around three hours or so. This is one of my favourite lip colours of all time and I don't wear it nearly as much as I should. It's so well pigmented that it will look great regardless of the pigmentation of your lips and I can't think of a skin tone it wouldn't work well with. I particularly think that dark skinned beauties would look gorgeous in this. I really can't sing the praises of Raspberry Pie enough.

Final Verdict: If you love the colour, get it!

So that wraps up my mini series of lip butter reviews! See the others using the links below:

Peach Parfait/Macaroon/Berry Smoothie

Lauren

Haul: No7, Models Own and much much more!

On Friday morning I woke up to my bank account looking plump and healthy after my very last pay cheque (boo.) I decided that I was going to go out in style. I passed a lot of it onto my boyfriend to cover some bills and to put some into savings. The rest was for me to spend on things that would make me happy. Queue teen movie style shopping. I've grouped the items into purpose.
First up, Skincare:

From L-R: The Body Shop Absinthe Hand Cream (sample), The Body Shop Mango Lip Butter £4, No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make-Up Remover £8.50, No7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask £12.50, No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Balm £9, Nivea Daily Essentials Express Hydration Primer for Dry & Sensitive Skin £4.99

I tried out the Absinthe hand cream in store and really liked it. It has a light nettle scent that's really refreshing. It's thick and smooth and also comes in a hand butter which I'm quite curious about. I'm glad the assistant gave me this because I'm going to try and collect the little pots and one day mix Sleek Pout Paints in them (I WILL HAVE THEM ONE DAY!) The Lip Butter is my Holy Grail. I just finished up my Dragon Fruit one and it's lasted me absolutely ages and smells divine but I really wanted to try something new. It has a slight shimmer and more of a neutral tone to it which means I'll probably be able to wear this during the day more than my other one. Here's hoping. No7 Eye Make Up Remover is to serve as a replacement for the body shop cucumber cleansing milk which I find leaves a residue behind on my skin. Ick. I'm really excited to try the Hydration Mask. I've read some reviews and they all sound really promising. I suffer from dry patches of skin so this should help. Cleansing Balm is again to try and help my dry skin. I currently use the body shop aloe foaming facial wash, which I do love and recommend to anyone with sensitive skin, but I'm hoping this will give my skin the extra push it needs for moisture. I asked the #bbloggers a week or two ago during the chat to recommend a primer and the Nivea Express Hydration cropped up a lot. Since it was only £4.99 in Superdrug I couldn't really say no.

Nails:

From L-R: Models Own 3 in 1 (clear,) Golden Peach, Blooming Pink, In the Navy, Juicy Jules, Blizzard £5 each, Revlon Liquid Quick Dry £6.49

So I went a little crazy on the Models Own offers in Boots. I've never tried them before but they seem to be really highly rated by a lot of bloggers and I absolutely love the colours I picked up! The only one I've used so far is Blizzard which you can see here with Illamasqua's Caress. I've been a bit nail varnish mad recently and I think I'll be doing some collection posts soon which I'm excited about! Revlon Liquid Quick Dry is a product that goes on after the top coat to speed up drying time. It contains oils and vitamins which (apparently) help your nails stay healthy. I saw this and I was like omg if this works it will change my life. I'm one of those people that is just terrible for getting smudges and indents in my manicure. I've tried this once today and so far I'm pretty impressed. it definitely helped give me a rock solid mani. I'll give it a few more tries and review soon!

Hair:

Colour B4 Hair Colour Remover in Extra Strength £11.99 each

Eye wateringly expensive. I resent paying full price for anything so this was a struggle for me. I've been thinking about doing this for over a year now and I've finally decided to buy the stuff and take the plunge. The issue is that I'm currently trying to grow out my chemical-laden coloured hair and I can't deal with the bizarre colouring any more. It's dark blonde/light brown at the top, dyed brown in the middle, and auburn at the bottom. It could look a lot worse but I'm very aware of it and that's all that matters to me. By no stretch of the imagination do I think I'm gonna be blonde again afterwards but I'm hoping that this will make the divides less noticeable. I will definitely let you know what happens!

Miscellaneous:

The Body Shop Amazonian Wild Lily EDT 50ml £15, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light £4.19

I'm always on the hunt for another perfume that I like and I gave Amazonian Lily a spritz on a whim and fell in love. It's very fresh and light and the floral notes aren't overly strong. I dislike exptremely sweet/floral perfumes and I wasn't expecting to like this. Perfume scents are very personal but if your tastes are anything like mine I urge you to give it a try! I bought this with 40% off. £9 for a perfume! Bargain. Believe it or not I've never tried the Collection Concealer.  I have the illuminating touch version and I really like it, but I needed something a bit heavier for pigmentation issues. I swatched the fair shade but it is very very pale. I think Light will do nicely!

So that's everything! I did also snag a couple of the Apocalips today but it was after dark so no photos I'm afraid! I'm sure you'll see them here soon enough.

Have you tried any of the products I bought? What do you think to them?

Lauren

Review: Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie

I promise these are almost over! Today I'm showing off Berry Smoothie. This is another shade that was a must-have for me when I first started looking at the lip butters.

In the bullet this appears to be a deep berry pink shade but I actually found this to be the sheerest of the four that I picked up, and it ended up being a very soft, flattering colour. It's quite similar to Macaroon but this leans more pink than peach. It doesn't have much shimmer in it either, it's just a very soft pretty sheen.

I definitely think that this shade looks a little glossier than the others but it's still fantastic for every day wear and I think it'll be a lovely shade for Spring. I can see this going beautifully with some pastel coloured clothing and light eye makeup. This felt really lovely and smooth on my lips. The lack of shimmer made this the lightest, smoothest one I've tried so far! Gorgeous formula. I have to say one note on the packaging, I know I've been singing it's praises, but I actually quite dislike the clear window in the top. It's really strange. I  know it's to help see what the shade is and it's a great idea, it's just looks so bizarre to me! I think Macaroon is still my favourite so far. Let's see what the fabulous Raspberry Pie has next time!

What do you think to Berry Smoothie? Are you as surprised as I am about how sheer this is?

Lauren

Quick Update: This shade can be built up to more of a berry tone with a few layers :)

Review: Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Macaroon

When I was standing in front of the Revlon stand a couple of weeks ago I was holding Peach Parfait in one hand and Macaroon in the other trying to decide between the two. I did the smart thing and of course bought both. No regrets!

 I have said it before and I'll say it again, I really like these products. The packaging is cute and functional and the lid colour corresponds (loosely, they're all quite similar really) with the colour of the product. I decided to review the four colours I have separately because I don't want to have too many enormous posts on here as I'm sure it'll start feeling like hard work when reading! In my mind, Peach Parfait and Macaroon were the two "neutral" pinky-peaches that would suit almost all skin tones. I wasn't at all disappointed, they're both really beautiful and easy to wear shades. Bizarrely I find that this shade leans more peach on me than Peach Parfait - which became a soft pink. It also doesn't have as much shimmer, which makes it even easier for me personally to wear during the day.

Application was very smooth and easy but I had a little difficulty with the shape of the bullet because for some reason mine dipped in the centre. I haven't experienced this with any of the other shades, I think it's just a design fault on this single item. The formula doesn't enhance any flaws and feels very light and moisturising on the lips. Wear time isn't amazing (around 2-3 hours) but it was slightly better than Peach Parfait. I think between the two shades this one just manages a photo-finish win. It's a bit warmer which I find suits me better. 

Final Verdict: Lovely colour that would suit most skin tones but will probably flatter pale ladies best.

What do you think to this shade? Do you prefer it to Peach Parfait?

Lauren

Review: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Honey and Crush

 Just like with the lip butters, I'm a million years behind every one else buying these. But why not share them anyway? I've only picked up two shades so far but now that I've tried them, I want MORE. These are possibly my favourite lip colour products of all time. (Big thing to say, but it's true) I love the look of stains but like a lot of people I just find them impossibly drying and because they're so uncomfortable I always end up adding lip balm or sometimes even gloss, which of course completely takes away the intended effect.

Regardless of my raving, there are some substantial negatives. First up, the bizarre menthol scent. These smell like vapo-rub. If you don't what that is, imagine really strong mint crossed with antiseptic. How nice is that? It's not overly terrible though and you can't smell it once it's applied. I've read a few reviews with people saying that they actually like the scent, but for me, if you're going to scent makeup it should be something less clinical. Secondly, the price. £7.99 isn't an enormous amount of money, but it is substantial for a high street product, particularly when you only get 2.7g of it. I'll be honest and say it's a lot of the reason that it's taken me so long to buy any. Luckily a lot of the Revlon range is on offer for £5 each at Boots at the moment which is a far more palatable price for me!
Here they are on me:

Honey surprised me. I was expecting a much more muted almost neutral shade. I actually got a bright, but still undeniably pretty, pink. I do like it, but I think I'm still on the hunt for a more nude shade. Crush is such a stand out gorgeous berry shade. It's deep and vampy and not for the faint of heart. I got a few looks for wearing this outside in the day but I'm going to interpret it as jealousy. Who can blame them? 

The formula of these is to die for. It's a lovely, smooth, lightweight balm with an inbuilt stain. Long after the sheen is gone, a beautiful pink stain adorns your lips. And wow at the lasting power of these babies! I am amazed. I've had Crush on all day and I still have vibrant pink lips. I also love how you can build these shades up to create a darker, stronger colour. Also have to compliment the packaging, I know it's pretty much directly swiped from the Chubby Sticks, but there's no denying that it makes a great housing for the product. The silver twist up section at the base is really nicely incorporated into the design. My only gripe is that the lid doesn't fit on the opposite end of the stick. I don't know about you, but if I can't put the lids on the back end I put them down and it takes me half an hour to find them again. Things literally disappear if they touch the floor. Guess I'm just gonna have to be extra careful!

Final Verdict: get one! or two or three...

What do you think to these? Are they better than the Clinique Chubby Sticks?

Lauren

Review: Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait

I know how late I am on the bandwagon with these, but they were £5 each at Boots and I just couldn't resist picking some up! There's lots of reviews out there but here's mine of Peach Parfait:

Everyone loves the packaging on these little beauties and I can see why! I love that Revlon have matched the lid to the colour inside and the shape and design give it a more "high end" feel. It feels nice and sturdy and I don't worry about the lids falling off in my make up bag. Special mention also for the adorable names. They're all very "sweetie" inspired and just add to the overall deliciousness of the product.
This is actually the shade that Emma Stones wear in the advert but I have no idea how they made it look as orange as it does...

I'm not the palest girl in the world but I was still surprised at how warm and pink this turned out on me. The photo seems to exaggerate the pinkness though, it was a tad more peachy in real life. I love the shade anyway so it's not a huge problem, I just really feel like the photo should have been a more accurate portrayal of what colour you get. It's a warm coral/pink with substantial champagne/gold coloured shimmer. It glided on very easily and feels very comfortable to wear. I agree that it is definitely more moisturising than a regular lipstick, but doesn't touch my usual lip butter in that area. The colour pay off is really nice, I thought it would be a bit more sheer than it is but I was pleasantly surprised! Wear time isn't amazing but I never expected it to be - after around 2 hours I'm left with more shimmer than colour and it's completely gone soon after that. It's such a lovely natural colour though, I really don't mind having to top up. I wore this for work last week and it was very pretty and appropriate, I even got a few compliments!

I think it's just become a go-to lip colour for me. I can see myself wearing it down to nothing by the Summer. The only small negative is the price. At £7.99 this is definitely at the higher end of drugstore prices, but there's usually a great offer on (at Boots or Superdrug), so I've never paid that much yet for one of these. If you don't have any yet, go get some!

Which is your favourite lip butter shade?

Lauren

NOTD: Nails Inc Kensington and Revlon Sequins Topcoat

I've been waiting for a good opportunity to use these two little gems and I thought, why not try them together?

I don't think I can be sorry enough for my shoddy application. It's like as soon as I don't do my nails for a week I completely lose any control over my hands. Complex tasks become impossible. Believe it or not this was my second attempt. It was even worse than this to begin with.

I've only very recently started using glitter because something in my head was telling me it was childish. But then, what's wrong with having childish girly nails? I'm coming round to it! I utterly adore these two colours and think they work together beautifully, but I'm still not sure. It's coming across a bit "dotty" and reminds me of a very glamorous snake, when I was actually going for more of a "fairytale woodland" motif. Maybe I'm thinking about it too much.

I used just one coat of Kensington over a clear basecoat, it honestly didn't need any more. It was totally opaque and the coverage was just perfect. I absolutely adore Nails Inc polishes. They dry so fast and I haven't had a problem with any of them. I can only thank my lucky stars (and TK Maxx) that I was able to find so many for so little money! This gem worked out as only £3, which honestly, is nothing for the quality. I don't really mind that they're probably all from two seasons ago, besides, life is boring when everyone's wearing the same thing.

I picked up Sequins for free when I purchased 3 Revlon products. Bargain! Especially since they were on 3 for 2 anyway. How could I not? I imagined that I would be doing a lot of blobbing with this in an attempt to get even coverage, but it was surprisingly easy to work with. The particles are suspended in quite a thick varnish so you get a nice coating on the brush, and if you get it right with first sweep, you're done! I had to blob with a couple of my larger nails, but I'm very impressed! For a free nail varnish it's surpassed all expectations from me and if you can find it I definitely recommend it.

What do you think of this manicure?

Lauren

P.S. What do you reckon to the photos? I requested some advice from another blogger recently and she suggested my photos could be a tad better - which I absolutely agreed with. I'm trying a slightly different set up and I've edited them a bit. Do they look a bit weird and fake? or no...? Would love some feedback!

Recent Purchases Haul

Head's up: this is gonna be quite picture heavy!
I've been doing quite a bit of purchasing here and there for various things. Mainly because of all the awesome deals on at the moment, plus I've been buying things for my giveaway! You'll see a couple of the pieces in these pictures. It's not going to be massive, it's just a few bits that I really like and wanted to pass on to one of my lovely followers. Hopefully I'll have that up today or tomorrow so everyone can enter then.
First up:

Masses of beauty booty.

1. Yankee Sampler Candles  

Wild Passion Fruit  

 Pink Dragon Fruit

My very first Yankee candles! I went into Clintons with the intention of having a look at the 50% off Christmas candles but the shelves had been raided and nothing there took my fancy. I started circling the stand and spotted these babies. I love fresh fruity scents and these are utterly divine. I'm going to try and keep them for Spring/Summer and use up the more Wintery themed candles I have in the mean time. Wish me luck.

2. Kiss Me Quick Nice Ice Lip Balm Set

I actually got these as part of my Secret Santa but I think they're so adorable I just wanted to show them off! I'll do a more detailed post on them soon because they're really lovely.

3. MUA

Lip Boom in It's A Situation
Undressed Palette*

The Artiste Collection Palette*

Eye Liner Pencil in Snow White

Have you seen the colour of It's A Situation?! Stunning deep plum. I'm not a massive fan of glittery lipglosses but I'll try it nonetheless. The palettes are for you lovely people! I love my Undressed Palette and the Artiste Collection came free with it so I thought I'd pass on the love. 

4. Collection

Lock 'n' Hold Lip Gloss in Break Dance

24hr Felt Liner in Teal

Bedazzled Nail Effects in Tea at the Glitz*

5. Maybelline

Master Smokey Eye Liner in Smokey Violet

I've read a lot of negative reviews about the product but I don't know what it is... I just wanted it so bad! Luckily the girl working in Superdrug offered me this one for just £1 because it was missing the lid on the smudger. For a £5 saving, I didn't really mind and snapped this up with minimal thought!

6. Soap and Glory

Arch de Triumph in Buff

I b*tch about my brows constantly and never do anything about it. UNTIL NOW! Here's hoping this will give me the definition my heart desires.

7. James Brown

Photo Fabulous High Shine Spray

8. The Body Shop Body Butter

Satsuma

Vineyard Peach

(just seen since I missed them out of my big picture) I used up my 50ml of the Satsuma so fast I had to get another one! Also, if you like the Peach, get it now whilst it's on half price. It's sadly being discontinued since it was only a limited edition scent.

9. Nivea Extreme Resist Glossy

Joli Cherry

Radiant Plum

Pretty Berry

Bright Rose

I know. I went and bought the whole collection! I adore these Poundland bargain gems and was thinking of including a couple in the giveaway, providing they're in stock still. If they are, which colours would you most like? Or do you want them all?

10. Revlon

Lip Butters in:

Raspberry Pie

Macaroon

Peach Parfait 

Berry Smoothie

Balm Stains in:
Honey

Crush

Nail Varnish in:

Sequins

It's the big one. I've gone Revlon crazy recently because they're all on offer and there's so many products I wanted! I got sequins for free with a 3 for 2 offer and then I went back again and the lip butters were £5 each so I bought 3 more. I'm utterly thrilled with these. Here's some close ups to wet your whistle:

Next up is the Soap and Glory Best of All. Everyone and their dog knows about how amazing these are. Particularly when you get them for £27!

Heel Genius, Clean On Me, Smoothie Star (my new favourite, it smells like sweet popcorn!) Peach and Clean, Sugar Crush Body Scrub, The Righteous Butter* Hand Food* Thick and Fast Mascara, Sexy Mother Pucker in Punchbowl. All full size, all fabulous.

And finally something a little bit different...

BOOKS!

I was lucky enough to receive a Waterstones voucher for Christmas so I put it towards these gorgeous specimens. There's quite a bit of variety here and I'm tempted to start doing the occasional book review in 2013 for a bit of variety. Plus I love hearing about books that other people love and can talk for hours about my favourites. And besides, everyone know that smart girls equal sexy girls and girls reading equals smart girls. It's basic beauty math.

So that's my mahoosive beauty booty recent purchases. I hope you liked it! It took me blimmin' ages. Sorry about the bizarre lighting changes. It's so dark that I had to use flash for some pictures.

If there's anything particular you want reviewing quickly, leave me a comment.

Let me know if you'd like any Nivea Extreme Resist Glossy's in my giveaway!

* indicates that it's going to be in the giveaway

Lauren

Review: Revlon Eyelash Curler

Seasoned beauty girls get ready to gasp. I have never used an eyelash curler before. I've never owned one and never seen the need for one! But recently I've started lusting after some gorgeous curly lashes (I blame all your lovely blogs) and it just so happened that I spotted a bargain in Superdrug whilst I was out hauling. This fantastic curler was just £3.99. (Down from £5.99)

As I said before I've never used these so I wasn't sure how much of a dramatic effect to expect, and I can't compare with any other brands.

 Before

After

I know these aren't from the exactly the same angle and the first one isn't as detailed, but I could seriously see a noticeable difference! The packaging recommended that I hold it "gently but firmly" for 5 seconds. I held it for 10 seconds just because I wanted to see how well it would work and I think 5 might be a little short. These were really easy to use and comfortable on my fingers. They also come with a spare extra rubber strip for when the original becomes unusable which is handy.

These pictures are of course with zero make up, just after cleansing. I think for £3.99 it would be ridiculous to not want to try these and I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I'll be getting some serious use out of these!

Which are you favourite curlers? Do you use any at all?

Lauren